God is with victims of tragedy, reassures bishop

In an emotional pastoral letter, Bishop Demetrio Martinez of Tarazona, Spain reflected on why catastrophes, such as Haiti's January 12 earthquake occur. He explained that such tragedies can only be understood with the light of God, who is always with the victims.

The immediate reaction to the tragedy in Haiti, “from all parts of the world, has been to come to the aid of the victims who are suffering,” he wrote. “Suffering is something that is common to us all; it breaks down barriers and makes us all feel we are brothers and sisters.”

However, he said, in the midst of our response, the question also arises: “Who is to blame? Why do these things happen? Couldn’t God have prevented this?”

“Man feels helpless in the face of so much suffering,” the bishop continued. “The attitude of the believer is one of renewing our adoration of God and asking for His light.”

“God is not to blame for these ills. God is all kindness and is only the cause of good. God is on the side of the victims, He is always on the side of the one who is suffering,” Bishop Martinez wrote. He added that “When God sent His Son into this world, He bore all the evils of humanity, in solidarity with suffering man while he freed man of eternal suffering.”

“God became immersed in the evils of the world, suffering them in his own flesh in order to bring us to full liberation. In natural disasters, the victims are not guilty either. They suffer ills and urgently ask for our assistance in solidarity.”

Bishop Martinez recalled that we are all “submerged in the mystery of evil, which does not have its origin in God, but in original sin, committed by man at the beginning of the history of humanity.” The sin “has repercussions even in nature, which is also subject to slavery.”

“Original sin was a true catastrophe,” he explained, “tearing apart man in his interior, in his relationships with others, in his dependence on God, even tearing apart nature, which becomes hostile to man.”

“The solidarity that comes from sin and makes us all subject to death has been substituted by another solidarity that springs from love, regenerates man and leads him to fullness,” the bishop said. “This new solidarity is named Jesus Christ. Let us come to the aid of the victims with the new solidarity that springs forth from Jesus Christ. He makes all things new.”